# Is This a Correct Spelling or Just an Extremely Common Typo/Misspelling? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 1, 2003, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-correct-spelling-or-just-an-extremely-common-typo-misspelling/178866 "2003-06-01T02:16:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gypsymoth3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@gypsymoth3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gypsymoth3)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-correct-spelling-or-just-an-extremely-common-typo-misspelling/178866/1 "2003-06-01T02:16:22Z")
what’s up with “tounge” instead of “tongue”? ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-correct-spelling-or-just-an-extremely-common-typo-misspelling/178866/2 "2003-06-01T02:20:34Z")
I’m going with misspelling/typo. I’ll bet it all, Alex. ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-correct-spelling-or-just-an-extremely-common-typo-misspelling/178866/3 "2003-06-01T02:21:00Z")
Hmm, I’ve never seen that spelling before. ---
**Author:** ![gypsymoth3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@gypsymoth3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gypsymoth3)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-correct-spelling-or-just-an-extremely-common-typo-misspelling/178866/4 "2003-06-01T02:25:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Trigonal Planar \* > \*\*Hmm, I’ve never seen that spelling before. \*\* [Now you have.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=187694) (don’t feel bad, beatenman, i’ve seen other people spell it that way before.) ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-correct-spelling-or-just-an-extremely-common-typo-misspelling/178866/5 "2003-06-01T02:26:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Trigonal Planar \* > \*\*Hmm, I’ve never seen that spelling before. \*\* I’ve typed that spelling before. It’s a fairly common typo. Do a Google search on it, and you’ll see what I mean. Doesn’t make it correct though; “tongue” is the proper spelling. ---
**Author:** ![Sock\_Munkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Sock\_Munkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sock_Munkey)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-correct-spelling-or-just-an-extremely-common-typo-misspelling/178866/6 "2003-06-01T04:00:16Z")
Oh man, I’ve been mispelling it for the last 10 years! ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-correct-spelling-or-just-an-extremely-common-typo-misspelling/178866/7 "2003-06-01T04:02:02Z")
You’ve been mispelling “monkey” too. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-correct-spelling-or-just-an-extremely-common-typo-misspelling/178866/8 "2003-06-01T04:46:28Z")
Doesn’t anyone know not to misspell? ---
**Author:** ![Gartog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/22d042/32.png) [@Gartog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gartog)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-correct-spelling-or-just-an-extremely-common-typo-misspelling/178866/9 "2003-06-01T18:49:38Z")
How? ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-correct-spelling-or-just-an-extremely-common-typo-misspelling/178866/10 "2003-06-01T19:20:19Z")
I think common typo. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-correct-spelling-or-just-an-extremely-common-typo-misspelling/178866/11 "2003-06-01T19:48:54Z")
“tounge” just looks rediculous ---
**Author:** ![Insecta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3da27b/32.png) [@Insecta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Insecta)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-correct-spelling-or-just-an-extremely-common-typo-misspelling/178866/12 "2003-06-01T21:22:53Z")
I’m with Sock Munkey on this one… Oh the shame. ---
**Author:** ![cleops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/2acd7d/32.png) [@cleops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cleops)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-correct-spelling-or-just-an-extremely-common-typo-misspelling/178866/13 "2003-06-01T21:41:47Z")
togue doesn’t look so hot iether.😃 ---
**Author:** ![peepthis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@peepthis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peepthis)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-correct-spelling-or-just-an-extremely-common-typo-misspelling/178866/14 "2003-06-02T00:06:24Z")
“It’s a damn poor mind that can only think of one way to spell a word.” –Andrew Jackson ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-correct-spelling-or-just-an-extremely-common-typo-misspelling/178866/15 "2003-06-02T00:42:23Z")
“tounge” looks like it should be pronounced “tOWnge” ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-correct-spelling-or-just-an-extremely-common-typo-misspelling/178866/16 "2003-06-02T00:47:37Z")
It’s analogous to a much more common misspelling: _chaise l **ou** nge_. The one and only correct spelling of this item of patio furniture is _chaise l **ongu** e_. It’s French for ‘long chair’. What’s so hard about that to grasp? Look, it has the word “long” in it. The thing itself is elongated in shape. What’s not to understand? Sheesh. :rolleyes: Yet every American I’ve ever heard calls it a “chaise lounge.” Because you “lounge” around in it? :rolleyes: So by analogy are we supposed to pronounce the name of the lingual organ “tounge” to rhyme with “lounge”? ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-correct-spelling-or-just-an-extremely-common-typo-misspelling/178866/17 "2003-06-02T01:10:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nanoda \* > \*\*“tounge” just looks rediculous \*\* Karma, or a whoosh? I can’t decide. Oh, I mean “dicide”. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-correct-spelling-or-just-an-extremely-common-typo-misspelling/178866/18 "2003-06-02T03:57:34Z")
Ha ha! Got another one! —Ga **w** dere